The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, under Professor Joash Amupitan as an extension of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The PDP made this allegation in a statement posted on its verified X handle on Tuesday

It said that selective obedience to court orders, rulings and a persistent lack of transparency in electronic transmission systems have left the electorate with a chilling impression that INEC is no longer serving the citizens.

The party alleged that the electoral umpire is rather doing the bidding of the ruling party to guarantee status quo preservation in 2027.

It lamented that public confidence in INEC has hit a historic low, saying the agency is no longer operating as an autonomous and transparent referee.

“INEC under Professor Joash Amupitan, increasingly behaves like an extension of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

“For any democracy to survive an economic depression, the public must believe that their pain can translate into political consequences via the ballot box.

“That belief requires an independent umpire. However, public confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has hit a historic low,” the PDP said.

The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Henry Seriake Dickson, has announced that the party has been granted access to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal to upload the names of its qualified candidates for the 2027 general elections.

Dickson made the disclosure on Monday in a statement posted on his X platform, while also revealing that the party had filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution against a recent court ruling affecting its status.

According to him, the appeal and accompanying application have been served on the INEC Chairman and the commission, urging them to act in accordance with the law.

He maintained that the NDC remains a duly registered political party that has participated in all electoral processes so far and has already concluded its nomination exercises across the country.

“The Nigeria Democratic Congress has come to stay and remains a duly registered party in Nigeria. Nomination processes have already been concluded and, in the eyes of the law, candidates have already emerged from the party for all offices across the country in primaries observed, monitored and recorded by INEC,” he said.

Dickson disclosed that only the administrative process of submitting candidates’ names remained, adding that the party had already been granted access to the INEC portal.

“My name and that of the presidential candidate have been uploaded to the INEC portal, while that of the vice-presidential candidate will be uploaded tomorrow upon completion of the deposition. The process is also ongoing for other candidates,” he stated.

He noted that, in line with the INEC timetable, the party has until July 11 to upload the names of its National Assembly candidates and until July 17 for governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.

“There is enough time for all candidates’ names to be submitted to INEC, and there is no reason for anyone to panic,” he added.

Dickson thanked all aspirants who participated in the party’s primaries, acknowledging that although the exercises were not perfect, they were conducted under challenging circumstances for a newly registered political party with a large number of contestants.

He disclosed that reconciliation efforts had commenced to unite members who were unsuccessful in the primaries, assuring them that they would be accommodated in the party’s campaigns, committees and other structures.

“As National Leader, I congratulate all NDC candidates, members and lovers of democracy. All those who expressed interest will be carried along because they constitute the grassroots strength and backbone of our party,” he said.

The former Bayelsa State governor also stressed the need to safeguard Nigeria’s democratic system, warning against attempts to weaken the country’s multi-party democracy.

“Our multi-party democracy must not die. We will not allow desperados and mercenaries parading as political leaders to destroy our hard-earned democracy,” he declared.

Dickson commended INEC for what he described as its professionalism, particularly in complying with court directives on the registration of the NDC and two other political parties.

He also praised the commission’s decision to oppose moves seeking the deregistration of some opposition parties and its recognition of the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following a court order.

While acknowledging the imperfections of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, Dickson urged political leaders to protect the neutrality of the judiciary, INEC and security agencies.

He expressed confidence that the judiciary would fairly determine the pending appeal, saying, “Having filed and served our appeal and the accompanying applications, the ball is now in the court of the judiciary, and we expect the judiciary to do what is right under the law.”

He ended the statement with a reaffirmation of the party’s commitment to Nigeria’s democracy, declaring, “Long live the NDC. Long live Nigerian democracy.”

A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Buba Galadima, on Tuesday, accused President Bola Tinubu and state governors of trying to establish state police to use it as a tool of destruction in the 2027 general elections.

Galadima explained that state police would create more problems in the country.

Featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Galadima wondered how state police would tackle security challenges if the Nigerian Army and police can’t.

He said: “Nobody ever conceived the idea of state police to sort out our security challenge, if the Nigerian police, the Nigerian military can’t solve the security situation in the country, I wonder how the state police would be able to do that.

“All that we know is that the President and governors are looking for state police before the election so that they use them as political thugs to attack the opposition, disarm the election, and kill democracy.

“I was adult enough to see what happened during the native authority police. When elections approached, three months to election, the native authority police will gather all opposition elements in their territorial jurisdiction and look them up. Some of them will say you have abused the emir, judge or you are wearing shoes when your village head was seated on the chair, then they would send all of them into detention.

“Most Hausa people that you see all over Nigeria and Africa where the spillover of the misuse of the native authority in Northern Nigeria and that is why they needed to run for their dear life and hide elsewhere.

“The state police can be used to destroy the unity of this country because there are certain states where only one tribe or religion would constitute the state police such that other people from the other parts of the country would have no liberty to do their business as enshrined by the constitution.

“The state police for me would create more problems and divisions.”